Q & A with Norm Clarke

NORM CLARKE doesn’t own a casino, but he’s arguably one of the most influential people in Las Vegas. He writes Vegas Confidential, a gossip column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He’s peripatetic in his trademark eye patch, the result of a childhood injury. Clarke’s dream beat caps a decades-long newspaper career that included several years in San Diego. He’s made the national spotlight by being bitch-slapped by Pete Rose, and he broke the news of pop tart Britney Spears’ first, short-lived marriage.

What’s the best aspect of your job? The continuous wealth of A-list material. There’s no such thing as a slow news day.

Are there subjects or people you consider off-limits? None come to mind. You can be an aggressive reporter and not alienate the people you cover. Snarky isn’t my style. I stay away from who’s-sleeping-with-whom——except, of course, when Paris Hilton is involved.

How often, and how vehemently, do people complain about what you’ve written? Surprisingly, that rarely happens, mainly because I’ve usually called the nightclub, restaurant or casino to check the story. I expected to catch hell from the White House after referring to the Bush twins as “Jen and Tonic”——but didn’t.

Is there any place in Vegas where you feel unwelcome? In my first month here, I was asked to leave the MGM Grand for “asking too many questions” after still another Mike Tyson fight fiasco. But I’ve been welcome there for years. The Hard Rock Hotel 86ed me in 2000 after I reported that Ben Affleck won $600,000 while playing up to three hands at a time at $20,000 each. It was a sensitive subject because he went into rehab a day or so later.

Like all columnists-about-town, you have a network of reliable tipsters. What happens when you get a hot tip from someone you know is questionable or has an agenda? I had a nightclub promoter hint very strongly that Madonna was coming to his event. She didn’t show, and I haven’t taken his call in five years or publicized anything to do with him. You would be surprised at how many self-sightings I receive. Usually it’s a rising actor or a defense attorney who wants it known he hangs with Suge Knight.

What are the most significant changes you’ve seen during your Vegas tenure? I got here for most of the building boom. I’ve seen the explosion of starchef restaurants and nightclubs and world-class shopping. When I got here in 1999, it was still a city that kept its secrets in the desert. I think I’ve changed that with a lot of hard work and by sticking to the basics of journalism.